


Keeping your head up

by FaithInDawn



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Kinda Lancecentric, Multi, Post Season 1, Rating May Change, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-21
Updated: 2016-11-04
Packaged: 2018-08-23 18:28:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8338138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaithInDawn/pseuds/FaithInDawn
Summary: 'In retrospect, often when things go well in Lance’s life something comes along to ruin it.' *The team has splintered, thrown apart and cast throughout the galaxy by the very being's they hope to fight. Now all they can do is fight for their own individual safety and hope to find each other once again. Think's aren't as easy as that though, and there are powerful forces after them wanting the exact opposite.





	1. Break down, now weep

**Author's Note:**

> So i'm finally back after about 2 months, and instead of going to the two fics I have waiting I start a new one *Facepalm*  
> Honestly I'm not sure when the other two will be started up again, as I need to get back into the feel for both fandoms before going at them again, aha.
> 
> In other news i've found myself obsessed with Voltron, and really couldn't help myself in writing something for it. This will update every other week and I might then in-between start up the other two, or explore something else, i'm not too sure yet. 
> 
> You can find me at http://dancing-rainbow-llamas.tumblr.com/ and I'll follow the tag 'Keeping your head up' or 'Kyhu' for this and use it to tag the next chapters ^>^
> 
> The chapter title is a lyric section from alt j – Breeze blocks 
> 
> I hope people enjoy this, lmao I was kinda nervous posting it.

In retrospect, often when things go well in Lance’s life something comes along to ruin it. When he was younger, it was often one of his siblings, ratting him out for something he thought he’d gotten away with, or simply being the lovable pain in the asses that they so loved to be, especially towards him. Now though, in the midst of a hastily shoved together team, nestled in the cock pit of a sentient blue lion, all the times he had complained about the small annoyances in life were thrown out the window. After all, nothing could compare to just how royally screwed the team ended up being.

It had been only through luck that the barrier around the Galra’s main base had fallen, the yellow honeycomb structured energy field sizzling away for no apparent reason, giving the team the chance they so desperately needed. Lightning fast, Allura had opened up a wormhole, and before the oncoming ships surrounding them could react, had steered the castle through the luminous gateway.

And they had been safe, secure, for about two seconds. One moment there was an air of relief running through the castle. Lance had allowed himself to let out a shot breath of relief, to sink back into the padded chair and immerse himself in the sound of Blue’s familiar hum, and the happy chatter of his team, of the people who he had slowly started to see as more than just a rag tag group of people pulled alongside him in this crazy ride as Defenders of the Universe. And yet the peace didn’t last.

Out of supposedly nowhere, a violent jolt had interrupted the pause of calm that had settled around the occupants. Lance had nearly been thrown out for his seat from the impact, his only saviour being the tight grip he had on the control’s sitting either side of him. Blue had whined desperately, the keening sound vibrating through his brain, shaking him to his core.

Something was wrong. So, so wrong. So much so that it had immediately set Blue on a panic tinged edge, her claws out of her own violation gripping into the floor of the carrier bay to the ship. Her resonance blocked out most of what was happening, but in the crazed state the male could vaguely hear the screaming of the others. Shiro’s broke through the rest, a commanding controlled tone demanding an explanation, asking what was going on.

He thought he heard Coran say something in reply, something about the stability of the wormhole, not that he really payed too much attention. He was more focused on the fact that he could _feel_ the ground slip away from blue’s hold; could see out of the corner of his eyes the other lions lifting away from the carrier. His arms shot out in a vague attempt to steer Blue back, steer her away from the opened bay doors, but she wouldn’t respond, _couldn’t respond_. It was like she’d locked up, frozen where she was. And so, heart beating a mile a minute, breath stuttering and ears ringing with the sound of the chattering coms, Lance could do nothing but grip onto Blue desperately as with increasing speed, she was sucked out through the bay doors into a purple tainted convulsing Wormhole.

It wasn’t a smooth descent out of the doors. The moment Blue passed by the edge of the metal plates she jolted, then started spiralling rapidly. Not fast enough to throw Lance from his tentative perch, but certainly enough to have him heaving his body to and fro, grabbing on desperately to the chair’s arms. He could hear his own voice, now. It was hazed out through Blue’s humming essence, and for a moment he couldn’t identify the pitched shouting as his own. Yet as his only form of protection against the void surrounding him moved further and further away from the sense of comfortability he had in this cold bleak expanse it slowly became all he could hear.

He was going to die, oh fuck this was it. God what would his family think. The Garrison had probably painted him, Hunk and Pidge as fugitives. His Mother would be so sad, she’d probably think him dead, or in prison. She wouldn’t know the truth, now one would know the truth. As always, he’d be the fuck up of the family; and worst of all he didn’t even have the skills to _return to them_.

This was his fate. He’d set out to be something, something more than a screw up, more than the guy who made it on the team out of convenience, because let’s be real; if Blue had someone else she could have chosen to pilot her instead, she would have gone for them. Maybe if someone else had been there she wouldn’t be hurtling towards the crackling jagged edge of the wormhole, and yet…

And yet it was only him here, and god dammit he would not let Blue be destroyed like this.

He slipped his eyes open, because at some point in his self-depreciating mind ramble he’d closed them, and leaned forward as much as he could, fingers gripping the controls, teeth gritting to quench either the nausea or the yelp threatening the rip its way out of his throat, he wasn’t sure which. Blue had turned on her side at this point, and although it didn’t affect him much with the whole super-duper artificial gravity, he could still feel the slight tug pulling him to the left, dragging at his shoulder lightly. He couldn’t focus on that now, not when the edge of the wormhole was so _close._ A large unforgivable wall that leered at him mockingly.

And he and Blue were heading straight for it. Her nose was tipping down, just touching the curious edges that flickered around her, pulling her closer. It was a maddeningly slow descent into the unknown, the metal lion tipping forward, the edges of the wormhole creeping closer and closer, slithering up Blue’s snout.

And then it was everywhere, rearing its ugly head forward and covering the windows around him, trapping him inside. He was engulfed, the sounds from the coms cutting of suddenly as the darkness overtook him, the only presence left being Blue’s shivering echo tattooed to the back of his mind.

Desperately, he fought down the rising bile that burned his throat, tried to fight the state of unconsciousness that was pushing at him, darkening the edges of his erratic gaze; but the pressure gripping his head painfully was too much, it was unescapable. He fought unconsciousness of long enough for his eyes to chance a glimmer of where exactly he had been ejected to, to subconsciously take in the nearest planet that Blue was heading towards, picking up speed in her sudden descent from the limbo void they’d come from; and, with a heavy thump against the back of his chair, Lance blinked out like a light.

*

He awoke again, to the sound of blaring alarms. Which really wasn’t unusual, except normally said alarms were accompanied by the sound of Allura’s voice projecting over the castle’s com’s.

This time, there was no posh call for arms, or the familiar droning tone of the noise screaming around him. Instead, he cracked his eyes open blearily to the sight of red. It flashed at him on the screen surrounding him, various alerts that he couldn’t read because he couldn’t read Altean, and really it was a mystery why _someone_ hadn’t installed some kind of translator already.

Lance groaned as he hefted himself up from the slumped position he had found himself in, for somehow he had ended up in his chair despite the precarious situation he had found himself in. He could feel Blue around him swaying lightly, and when he looked out the window’s in front of him, and looked past the displays still bleeping in alarm, a wide body of water met his eyes. They had most obviously landed in the brief lapse of Lance’s consciousness, if the expansive ocean floor underneath and around the metallic lion was anything to go by.

He couldn’t make out much, though he wasn’t sure if that was because they were too far down for a sufficient amount of light to reach them, or because night time had fallen on whatever planet he had found himself on. Nothing seemed to be moving, besides the slight sway of a dark blue seaweed, stationed in such a way that it reminded him of the small kelp forest off the coast near where he was born. The view wasn’t important though, what he needed to focus on was Blue’s condition, and if the heavy set of something liquid dribbling down his face was anything to go by, his own.

Balancing his weight on the side of the chair he sat on, Lance slowly raised himself to his feet, pausing halfway to stop the sudden vertigo pounding through his head like a hot sharp knife. His hands gripped the firm material under his fingertips precariously and his knees quivered gently.

“Dammit” He cursed, squeezing his eyes closed for a moment, trying to ground himself and stop the stark flashes of pain that coursed through his head, most likely inferring to a possible head injury. _Fun times_ , _nothing’s better than a giant gash to the head._ “Alright, alright” he muttered, pushing his body the rest of the way up. “Shit okay, possible doom via annoying red error signs first, I can deal with any injuries later” He paused to move forward, his legs wobbling but not buckling. Blue eyes scanned the display before him, hands unlatching from their death clutch to poke and prod various buttons and widgets before him.

“Blue, think you can give me a hand?” He eventually asked, after several minutes of mindless button pressing. He always felt mildly uncomfortable talking to the sentient lion who was quite literally balancing brain waves with him, but it was something he was slowly getting more and more used too.

For the first time since awakening, Blue’s gentle caress scratched at his sub-conscious and the flickering image depicting a small circular button to his right, underneath the section Keith and Hunk had identified as the area where if needed, a member of Voltron could insert their Bayard’s, appeared behind his eyelids. He didn’t hesitate to slam his hand down on the button presented, trusting completely in his lion’s guidance, no matter how strange the thought of doing such may be. The response was immediate; the commotion around him stopped abruptly, the cockpit going back to the soft calming blue overtone Lance was used to seeing.

Standing in the more familiar cerulean light, Lance felt more like himself again. The momentary lapse in his own façade of suave nonchalance had been rather embarrassing and unhelpful, and had let thoughts he so readily wanted to push away, lock up and never view again, tumble into his mind like a tidal wave.

“Okay” He murmured to himself, his voice shaking slightly due to the rising panic he had to keep pushing down in favour of finding out what the hell was going on. “Alright, Blue can you run a diagnostic on your systems? I’m going to check out for any injuries. Then…” Then he could attempt to use the comms, hope that perhaps he was lucky enough to land close to one of the team. Blue whirred in his mind, her presence strengthening, and in response to his words, the displays around him starts whizzing about with information and fluctuating bars. It always baffled him to see how responsive and _alive_ the lion was, even with her literal essence imprinted on his mind.

Pushing his thoughts aside, Lance carefully scooted around his chair, hand gripping the head of it for support. Through the opening at the back, a small hallway of sorts sat, the area a space for storage. He was lucky that not long before the trip to the Galra’s Space base the team had stopped off at a city covered planet in order to obtain some essential supplies for the lions. Several small crates of metallic looking packs filled with sustenance had been pushed into the first two cubbies in the wall, clothes Lance himself had picked out in the next, simple and black, fit more for comfort and warmth, than fashion. Anything that could be called fashionable in Lance’s eyes, clothes wise, were all back in the castle.

The last cubby hole of the four contained exactly what he needed. A large white box, with glowing blue indents on the side. Inside a variety of medical equipment was contained, from gauzes and bandages to strange pots of shimmering cream that, according to Coran, served a similar purpose as the healing pods, just on a smaller scale. He picked one of them up and studied it carefully, rolling it across his palm with his thumb.

It would have to do for now. He didn’t have the time or skills to mess about with the bandages placed inside, so slathering a bunch of this junk on the probable cut he had acquired underneath his helmet would have to do. He could feel a painful thrum across his forehead, dulled out beforehand most likely thanks to the drowsiness of awakening from passing out (He didn’t faint, thank you very much. Lance McClain did not faint; he was too _cool_ to do something like that.)

Closing the fourth cubby hole and opening the third, Lance rummaged around underneath the piled clothes inside until his hands grazed upon a plastic casing. He pulled out the fold-up mirror he had been given long ago by his eldest sister, some silly thing she’d found in one of her teenage gossip magazines and had passed onto him, being careful not to jostle the neatly folded stack of black. He then opened it up and set it on the edge of the cubby hole, making sure it was pointed upwards towards his head.

For the first time since awakening, he finally got a good view of the damage not so easily see-able done to his body. He was lucky enough to get away with little injury, but the scratches littering his face around the edge of his helmet still looked nasty to the eye. Dark smudges hung underneath blue orbs, evidence to the lack of sleep he’d had in the last few days, he had a feeling those bags were only going to worsen in the on-coming days.

“Can’t really worry about looks right now, Lancey-boy” He murmured to himself as he removed his helmet. He had been right about the cut above his brow’s, it was a thin jagged slice that ran from the tip of his hairline down to the middle of his forehead. It was deep enough to cause a small trickle of blood to leak down past his temple, but not enough so that blood loss was something he needed to worry about. “Let’s get this shit sorted”

The sticky gunk contained in the small pot was cold to the touch, and made the small nicks and scratches on his head tingle uncomfortably. It kind of reminded him of the food goo back on the castle, if the food goo was a mottled shade of blue and was used to slather on injuries. The most annoying thing about it, was that trying to scrape any of the unneeded mixture on the rim of the pot was difficult. The damn goo kept sticking to his fingers like putty.

After several attempts to remove all of it from his hands, he gave up, and instead lidded the pot, threw it back in the box it had come from, and wiped his hands against his thighs vigorously. He’d much rather deal with slightly dirty clothes, than weird shit stuck on his fingers.

With a heavy sigh, Lance lent down and scooped up his helmet that he had discarded on the floor, tucking it under his arm as he straightened back up again. He placed back on his head as he made his way back inside the cockpit, making sure to be careful of his injuries, and tapped the sturdy side lightly, manually opening the comms.

“Ugh” He coughed awkwardly, feeling so out of his depth. God he hoped to high hell that _someone_ would respond. “Anyone out there?” He called, voice wavering uncertainly.

His reply was nothing but static. A simmering rustle in his ears that caused a shiver of fear to run down his spine.  

“Hunk… Pidge… Anyone there?” He called, desperation tinging his voice. “Shiro? Keith!?”

Again, no response.

Fuck! This wasn’t good, he was not okay with this. What the hell was he supposed to do!? Here he was on an unfamiliar planet, his very existence being hunted by a bunch of galactic dictators, and he was lost and alone.

“Alright” He said to himself, voice quivering. “Everything is going to be A-Okay. I’m sure they’ve just turned their comms of or… or maybe they aren’t even awake yet!” He was sure that had to be it, because the idea that he had no one but himself and a sentient blue lion for company wasn’t one he wanted to think about. “I should focus on getting us up to the surface, right Blue? They’d have a better time hailing us then. How’s everything look, we all good?”

Blue purred happily in his ear, giving him all the confirmation he needed. At least there was some good news to this gradually spiralling situation. Quickly, Lance sat himself down into the pilot’s chair and reached out expectantly for the controls. The chair shifted forward, and tanned hands grasped the lever like sticks gently, the weight of them somewhat familiar to him (Which was another thing that baffled him, it hadn’t been too long since starting this crazy adventure and already he was becoming more than comfortable with the metal machine he had been so unceremoniously shoved together with.)

Controlling Blue, from the moment he had met her, had been almost second nature to him, and the feeling still sat with him to this day. He didn’t know whether it was due to the weird telepathy between the too, or something else entirely, but he instinctively just knew how to gently manoeuvre Blue up to the surface above them, picked up by the Lion’s sensor’s. The climb was slow, the water around them digging its fingers into Blue’s frame and attempting to drag them back into its depths. The Lion pushed on though, spurring away from the cold reaches until finally, shimmering light from the sun above flickered around them.

It was a familiar sight for Lance, both the light underneath the water, rippling like ribbon, and the view in sight seen when Blue finally breached the edges of the ocean around them. He couldn’t count the amount of time’s he’d looked out upon the beaches at home, had watched the water top glisten with pink, orange and blue hues. It made his heart clench and allowed a rush of homesickness to flicker through his veins painfully, but he pushed it aside, and instead focused on the view around him.

Water spanned out for what could be miles, with no signs of any type of land mass in sight. The surface around them was a crystalline blue colour, sharp and crisp to the eye, almost unnatural in shade. In the sky, the sun sat low in it’s descent, it’s rays casting lightly against the ocean’s surface. It was rather orange in colour, and hung against a colourful sky of purple, pink and green, accented by strips of yellow that streaked and weaved about, and medium sized figure’s that were barely see able through the canvas-like sky. If Lance were to take a guess, he would say they were planets of sorts, which meant when he did get off of the planet, he at least had somewhere else to possibly find help from.

Overall, coupled with the plant’s arranged like kelp forests down below, and the scenic view above, the part of the planet around him was rather similar to Earth.

“Hey Blue, can you get up the oxygen levels for me?” Lance asked tentatively, eye’s darting towards the displays around him. In response, surface to his left lit up with several statistical bars and wheels, and what Lance guessed to be numbers. If he was reading it right, and honestly what were the chances of that, he was hardly the tech genius here, then it should be safe for him the take off his helmet if he stepped outside. The fact was, he desperately wanted to smell the ocean, the strange salty tinge that accompanied the roiling water’s. He hadn’t seen nor smelt one for a long time, due to first him staying at the garrison, and then the whole escapade into space.

Just to be sure his guess was correct (probably not, but then again if so he wouldn’t exactly be surprised) Lance asked the Lion surrounding him, both physically and mentally. “I’m guessing that’s all positive, right Blue?”

Blue hummed her agreement at him, and then with an amused huff, mentally gave him a light nudge to the door, as though she could read his hidden thoughts and feelings.

(To be fair, at this point, Lance wouldn’t be surprised if this were true)

With a light chuckle, the blue paladin pulled himself back out of his very comfortable seat, and made his way back to the door of the cockpit. He paused momentarily as blue shifted her weight, and the hatch in the centre lowered down, then followed it, being careful of the slight decline and the rocky waves tilting Blue to and fro. “Thanks… girl” He muttered softly, a smile blossoming on his face at the fond warm reply he got in return.

At the bottom of the ramp, the fresh air buffering against his face lightly, Lance stopped, his heart clenching once again. The smell wasn’t as strong, and more sweet than salty, but it was there, encasing him and causing small shiver’s to run up and down his spine.

With a soft thump, Lance fell to his knees, his body suddenly feeling so, so heavy. It was like all the energy keeping him going, everything that spurred him on up until this point, had vanished. He hissed as he removed his helmet, and threw it to the side of Blue’s mouth, and dark brow furrowed harshly as his face scrunched up in an ugly attempt to stop the sudden tears welling up in his eyes from escaping.

It was no use though, as not even seconds later a small unwanted sob escapes his lips. His shoulder’s shuddered and Lance hunched over in-between two of Blue’s teeth, hands gripping the protruding weights desperately. He could _hear_ Blue in his mind, her soft hum filtering through in an attempt to comfort him, and though it helped slightly, it just wasn’t the same.

Wasn’t the same as Hunk’s warm hugs, Pidge’s comfortable silence. Wasn’t the same as Coran’s low voice waving over him as they sat together in a room of stars, reminiscing of all they miss and comparing different aspects of their lives with each other. Wasn’t the same as Shiro or Allura, and their mothering, their constant worry, no matter how annoying he could be at times.

And yeah, it wasn’t the same as Keith. Keith who awkwardly laced a blanket over him when he thought he had fallen asleep staring out of one of the castles only real windows. Keith who demanded a spar in his own weird attempt to help Lance take his mind off of his inner turmoil’s. Stupid mullet boy Keith who cared so very much, just wasn’t the best at showing it.

But it would have to do, she was all he had after all.

_God, she was all he had. And wasn’t that scary._

He honestly had no clue what to do, but he knew what he wanted.

Sure there was a part of him that wanted to be back at the castle, surrounded by everyone there, saving the Universe like some amazing hero.

But kneeling there, tears shaking his body and muffled cries escaping him quietly, all he truly wanted, more than anything else…

…was to go home.

* * *

 

 

Two wayward souls lost at sea  
Depression weighed heavy on he  
Terrified of this cold world was she

Whirlpool – Devin Ortiz


	2. In storm we scream, against the stream (Our eye’s watering)

_When he opened his eyes, a dusty copper expanse met dark orbs, the colours stark against the creamy sky that hung behind them. Keith groaned from his position on the floor, eyelids fluttering blearily as he stared out through the window of sorts located at the front of Red._

_For miles around, large sharp rocks protruded from the grainy terrain, forming jagged hills and dangerous outcrops. It vaguely reminded him of the dessert back on Earth, if only said desert was the colour of dried blood and screamed ‘Large possibility of death by impalement, live here at your own risk!’_

_With another low groan, the dark hard male lifted his upper body off of the floor, his elbows creaking in protest. In between being pushed through the side of an unstable wormhole, and landing on the unfamiliar planet before him, Keith had somehow found himself ejected from his chair and sprawled on the uncomfortable floor of his lion. It was no surprise that his entire body ached with pain, and he would bet everything he had that his front was most likely littered with bruises._

_Not that possible injuries were something he cared for at that point in time, he had more important things to worry about, such as where he was, and where everyone else was. His mind supplied the worry that without anyone else, without the others, Voltron wouldn’t be able to form. Underneath the rather uncaring thought, his sub-conscious was running a mile a minute, stuck on not Voltron, but his teammates._

_Yes, even Lance, no matter how annoying the Blue Paladin was, he had grown on Keith since their re-acquaintance. Even if they still butted heads all the time, after the disaster at the castle with Sendak, and their ‘supposed’ (According to Lance) bonding moment, Keith’s brow still furrowed with worry at the thought of the other Paladin, because he hated the idea of the idiot out there, possibly in some kind of trouble, and Keith being powerless to stop it._

_He hated the idea of Pidge being on her own, because as resourceful as she was she was most defiantly the youngest in the group, and the brotherly instincts in him that he never even knew he had emerged at the thought of her injured or captured, or just separated from the rest of them._

_He hated the idea of kind, gentle Hunk, who seemed so in tune with the rest of them, and always knew how to cheer other’s up, huddled in his lion, no one but himself and his thoughts to keep him company._

_He hated the idea of Shiro, once again thrown into the cosmos, possibly hurt, or even dead. Hated that once again, one of the only people he well and truly trusts is ripped from his fingers with a jarring suddenness he is most defiantly not okay with. He doesn’t want to think of the Galra empire getting their hands on him again, what that would do to the already scarred male._

_He has to get to the comms, has to search for someone, anyone. With a huff, Keith brings his feet up, his knees digging into his chest, and heaves his body into a standing position. The strings of pain that zips up his sides are ignored in favour of retrieving his cracked and worn helmet laying haphazardly on its side, and placing it on his head._

_The comms crackled to life in his ears, the static humming pleasantly. Tentatively, Keith manually switched on his mic, and with an uncertain cough, spoke._

_“Uh, this is Keith” He paused, turning to look at his chair. With a deep breath he staggered towards it and slumped into its embrace, ear’s searching desperately for any sign of life. “Anyone there?”_

_There was a pause, a moment of silence, and then-_

_“Keith?” Someone croaked, someone so, so very familiar. Keith’s heart clenched and some of the fear induced weight on his shoulders lifted._

_“Shiro” He breathed, head slumping back against the chair. “Shit, I thought-” he inhales deeply, his voice escaping in a light relieved chuckle. He could practically feel the small grin on the other’s face at the reply._

_“Language” Shiro reprimands, a moment of humour in the awful situation they had landed themselves in. “But I get what you mean. Have you heard anything from the others?”_

_Keith closed his eyes, the small smile on his face twitching into a frown at the thought. “I only just woke up, and you’re the only one to respond. There’s a chance they’re just out of comms reach, Coran never did say how far these things reach”_

_“I’m sure that’s it” Shiro replies, though the uncertain tone of his voice speaks otherwise on his views to the situation. “I’m sure they’re fine, besides it shouldn’t take Allura too long to pin point the lion’s locations._

_“We can only hope”_

_“Lighten up bud, are you injured? If not, we can work towards finding each other”_

_“Me? Not so much, just a few suspected bruises” Which technically wasn’t a lie so there’s that. “Luckily Red’s okay as well, she isn’t too bumped up”_

_In the comms, Keith could hear the sound of shuffling, and then an exasperated huff came through. “I can’t say I’m injured either, it’s just…”_

_“It’s just?” Keith inquired, eyebrows furrowing in worry._

_“Black… she isn’t responding… at all”_

_“Well, shit”_

*

Morning arrived quietly, it’s tempered whispered not even a nudge on the ocean breeze. The sun, in all its glistening glory, arose slowly, it’s ascent lacking the same speed as Lance was often used to witnessing back on earth. The reflection on the rippling water’s around Blue blanketed the sea’s surface in a plethora of colour’s, and through the wispy yellow streaks in the sky, blue eyes could see dark blemishes against the canvas above, peeking through and asserting their presence. It eased his worries, knowing that if the supposedly calm and gentle planet he had landed on was actually more terror filled than expected, he had somewhere to escape to.

Sleep hadn’t come easy to him the night before. When the sun had set, the darkness that had overcome the landscape sent a chill up the male’s spine. Though stars had been visible in the night sky, they had been dull in shade; on top of that, the planet supposedly had no moon acting as a giant lamp brightening the expansive darkness. Good thing Lance had quickly grown out of his old fear of the dark, he’d had all his night lights stolen by his older sister by two years. They were really cool as well, ceiling lights that glimmered above him, shaped like stars and planets. Suffice to say Lance’s obsession with space and all things that came with it started rather young. The tragic ending to all this, is the fact that one day after having come back from staying over Hunk’s (Childhood best friends for life) he entered his darkening room not to the off shade of green than normally filled it.

Oh no.

It had been blank, totally and utterly blank. Not a fake luminous star in sight. Poor upset Mini-Lance had been outraged, most obviously, and had run about the house in search for them, only to find them stuck to the ceiling of his older sister’s room. He hadn’t gotten them back from her, and had spent several months afterwards constantly sending her sulking glares, until something new and interesting caught his eye and made him forget the existence of the glamorous nightly defenders.

So no, it wasn’t the dark that had caused Lance’s difficulty in sleeping, it had been the unfamiliarity of everything. There he was curled up on the cockpit’s chair, a thick blanket he had found pushed to the back of the fourth cubby wrapped around him, Blue’s internal systems had been mostly set to dim, or as dim as it got. And yet everything had felt so unsettling, because the dark breached just beyond Lance’s fingertips, and no matter which way he turned, every time he opened his eyes, outside’s pitch black shadow stared back.

But whatever, there wasn’t much he could do about it, really. It wasn’t like Blue came along with some high-tech Altean blinds, though that would be pretty cool in Lance’s eyes. They should even have little colour co-ordinated lions on each, team spirit and all.

Yawning quietly, Lance shifted on Blue’s head, the blanket found laid unceremoniously over his lap. He scrubbed at his cheeks, snorting in annoyance at the tear tracks he could feel stuck there like twin tattoo’s blemishing his skin. He didn’t want to think about the mini-breakdown witnessed only by the moonless sky and the metal lion acting as his only companion, it was something he wanted to put behind him, and never bring up again.

So instead of thinking about it, the moment he had awoken he had climbed out of blue, cautiously made his way up to her head, and flopped down on it. A few hours later, and there he still lazily sat, legs splayed out in front of him, one arm supporting his body while the other scratched lazily at the back of his neck. Lance wiggled his numb toes, legs jerking in a vague attempt to nudge the blanket over them. After a few unsuccessful attempts, with the end result being the blanket falling even further off of his legs, and Lance cursing up a quiznak heavy storm, he gave into his fate of a cold lower half, and flopped down fully onto the metallic surface underneath him.

“This sucks” He grumbles, a childish pout forming on his lips. Blue eye’s glare up at the sky as though it was the sole purpose to the misgivings that had transpired in the last few days. In fact, he becomes so immersed in his pitiful glaring, that when Blue’s inquiring chime bursts through the silence rather suddenly, the Blue Paladin jolts with shock, then yelps in pain as his head bangs against where it was previously resting.

Rubbing his head, Lance quickly pushes himself up with his free hand and tucks his legs underneath his body. “Thanks for that, Blue” He mutters snidely, sniffing in contempt at the amused feeling he gets in return. “oh, ha-ha, let’s laugh at poor lance-” Lance’s frown slips off of his face as instead it’s replaced with a mocking expression of woe, and dramatically fluttering eyelashes. To add to it all, a tanned hand reaches up and settles itself over his heart. “-the romance is dead, I say, truly a travesty. How shall I continue when the love of my life has betrayed me so”

If Blue could roll her eye’s, Lance’s is pretty sure she would be doing so, and possibly smiling as well. Two thing’s Lance is kind of used to seeing from hanging around with Hunk and Pidge for so long. Tilting his head back, Lance’s hand drops back down to brace his body on the surface below. “What have you got for me, girl?” He asks, the humour in his voice taking a backseat to the curiosity edged with a cautious tone that surfaces.

Instead of a visual response, Blue’s presence carefully tickles against his sub-consciousness, her touch an ask for his presence. With a confused quirk of his lips, Lance hefts his body upwards and steadily makes his way to the edge, thankful for the calm surface of the water’s below. The descent down the side of her head is slow, the lanky male pausing on occasion to check for a foothold or to catch his breath. He isn’t helped by the Blue’s gentle echo nudging at him occasionally. After the third time of her doing so, Lance ends up placing his head on the cold surface on front of him, groaning in annoyance.

“Blue, girl, I love you, I really do-” Lance nudges his foot further down, eyes peering at where he’s putting it. He takes note of how close he is to her open mouth, and sighs in relief at this. “-But if you keep going on like that I’m going to fall, and then I’ll be wet. You don’t want your interior getting wet now do ya’ bud?”

Blue moaned quietly at that, an obvious show of her displeasure at the thought. Lance grinned in amusement, his foot finally pressing down on one of her teeth, his hands clenched around a small ledge just above him. “That’s what I thought, now give me a moment, nearly there”

And a moment is all it really took, moving himself from his temporary perch into Blue’s mouth and up the ramp didn’t take long, and luckily for the dark haired male he didn’t fall into the water’s below, or come close to such. He strode into the cockpit with a false swagger, his helmet removed from his head and tucked safely under his arm. He smoothly sat down onto the chair in the middle, revelling in the brush of warmth that flowed over him, a sharp contrast from the temperature outside. The chair pushed forward, and Lance settled down, adjusting the helmet so it rested comfortably on his lap.

“Alright Blue” He murmured, hands hovering over the displays to his left and right, fingers wiggling in anticipation. “What’s up?”

On the display to his left a picture of the planet appeared, the expansive ocean a blanket over the bulbous shape. It wasn’t perfectly round, or ovular, but instead much similar to the Balmera in that it distorted and stretched in different places. With a small beep, the angular picture of the planet started rapidly zooming into its surface until it came up with a large section. On the lower right a pulsing dot sat, the marker lazily moving forward. Lance guessed that to bet them, and at first was confused why Blue had called him there simply to show him their whereabouts, that was until his eyes flickered upwards on the map-like picture and Blue’s orbs noticed the medium sized lump that sat half in, half out of the display.

“Blue” Lance breathed, his eyes widening. “Is that what I think it is?” He asked, leaning forward to stare at the mass on the screen in part awe and part worry. “Is that actual land?”

The hum of confirmation was all he needed for an answer, and with a grin Lance yelped out triumphantly, arms pumping up into the air.

*

_The castle was evidently much quieter without the presence of the Paladins that had so recently roamed its halls. It was hauntingly worrying for the bright halls to be so empty, and Allura hoped with all her being that it wouldn’t take long for her and Coran to fill the emptiness back up again with the rag tag group of misfits she had found herself growing fond of._

_The Altean princess carefully tucked her long hair into a complex braid, the crown hanging gently against the back of her head, stray wisps curling around her multi-coloured eyes. She huffed gently, pulling at the tight collar on her body suit, then strode out of the room, destination in mind. The long hallways were so very familiar to her, she knew every hallway, every room, every nook and cranny that existed. Once, long ago, it had belonged to a man greater than she could ever dream to be, with a kind smile and an even kinder heart. But now, with him gone, it was hers. It was her castle, her ship, her responsibility._

_Just as the paladins were._

_She couldn’t dawdle on retrieving them, had to put all her resources in scoping them out and finding them, the universe couldn’t lose them, or their lions, and so it was her duty to ensure their return. She wouldn’t break that duty, not now and not_ ever

_She strode through the lightly lit halls with the stride of a leader, her back arched straight, head held high. Her steps were light against the metal flooring, the material of her suit not making much of a noise and yet despite this, her entrance into the control room of the castle was hardly unnoticed._

_She hadn’t even stepped into the room, door’s already wide open, before Coran tilted his head over his shoulder to look at her, bright face uncharacteristically sombre. He was leaning in front of one of the various displays in the room, his hands paused over the communication pad. Their eyes met as she stepped forward into the large room, and the steely gaze that met hers quickly softened into a similar look she had often seen as a child from the vibrant haired male._

_“Nothing yet princess” He said softly, an echo of his normal rambunctious tone laced into his words. “But I’m sure with you rested up the search should be quicker now”_

_Allura made her way quietly to the main control’s, her hands hovering over the upright pads. She closed her eyes, hesitance set in her frame. Princess she may be, not even a year into leading the Paladins of Voltron in her father’s stead and she’d already lost them. An overwhelming sense of failure rushed over her, stopping her in her tracks and freezing her at the base of the device. It wasn’t until a warm hand cupped her elbow that she unfroze, twisting her head around and opening her eyes to gaze at Coran._

_“Allura?” He asked, and for a moment it was like she was a little girl again, and her father was away in a meeting, or discussing trade with another planet, and she’d awoken to a nightmare, or simply couldn’t sleep. She’d often make her way to the red head’s room, the soft blanket gifted to her from her deceived mother clutched in tiny hands. He’d open the door, noticing her straight away and when he spoke, it was filled with so much warmth and care that it immediately assured her just from his words that everything was okay._

_This time was no different, at her spoken name Allura couldn’t help but smile brightly, lashes wet with the threat of tears that wouldn’t fall, not if she had anything to say about it. “I’m fine Coran” She stated, voice firm and un-wielding. “You’re right, if the castle can find the lions once, it can find them again. We just have to hope our Paladin’s are alongside their lions”_

_The pressure on her elbow increased for a moment, then disappeared as the elder male nodded and stepped away, moving back to the station he had previously been using. Turning back around again, Allura settled her hands on the two control pads, the feel of quintessence tickling at her fingertips a comforting one. Around her, the space lit up just as it had done not too long before in the presence of, to her and Coran, five strangers who would quickly become their friends and team members._

_It would take a while for the castle to find the lions, it was still in a state or repair and therefore the process would take longer than it would have normally, but it was a start; and hopefully as Coran continued to work on repairs the speed in which the system pinpointed the lions would increase._

_Now all they could do was wait and work, and hope for the safety of their lost teammates._

*

“Alright, plan of action” Lance exclaimed, rubbing his gloved hands together. “We get you on dry land, wait for your repulsors to kick back online, then get the hell out of here. Obviously space signal doesn’t extend as fair as one would hope, so roaming about in this area until someone find’s us is our best bet”

Blue purred her agreement, the sound vibrating through the male’s bones pleasantly. They would, of course, have to be careful of possible Galra stations in the system but according to Blue’s newly functional long range sensor’s their presence wasn’t anywhere near at that point in time. The impact into the ocean had left Blue stable, yet slightly damaged. Her flight capacities were incapacitated until she managed to reboot the systems and fix whatever caused them to go offline in the first place, long ranged scanners were recently made accessible, yet still fuzzy on detail. A few other small systems needed to be checked over, but overall everything was relatively in working order.

Lance adjusted the straps on the forearm protectors of his suit nervously, blue eye’s scanning over the approaching shore, searching for anything he could identify as a worry. Luckily from what he could see, the barren shores seemed lacking in such thing, not that he would let his guard down. Keith certainly wouldn’t have, and Lance was most obviously better than the other male (a blatant lie he often told himself to make himself feel better. Yet lie it may have been it still put an extra inch to his spine, made him stand just that bit taller with a cocky confidence he was somewhat known for.)

The large island that Blue had identified was littered with thick intertwining trees the colour of Autumn leaves, and stood on grainy grey material that looked similar to sand, yet had a strange shine to it, almost like they were tiny specks of metal. Strange they may be, they were stable enough for Blue to carefully walk upon, her claws digging down for extra stability. Lance peered out through the large window at the front of the cockpit, trying to look through the cracks in the trees for any signs of the opposite shore.

He huffed, coming up with nothing but even more trees, then turned to the open door, patting Blue’s walls affectionately as he walked out. “This looks mildly ominous” He stated, then broke off into yawn, the effects of his lack of sleep lingering. “Let’s get this over and done with, check around, make sure no scary monsters are lurking ready to chomp down on us, get back inside and binge sleep for a day or two while you get flight back online, how does that sound, huh Blue? The perfect vacation”

Blue purred in amusement at him, then nudged on his sub-consciousness, almost as though trying to push him out already. It reminded him of how his exasperated Mother would hurry him and his siblings out of the door each day for school, an amused smile on her lips despite the situation. Lance couldn’t help but chuckle lightly at the thought. Strange world, where you can compare your own Mother to a giant metal Lion.

“I’m going, I’m going” Lance laughed, gripping the side of the door lightly as Blue leant down, her mouth opening and the ramp descending down onto the ground with a soft thump. He followed after it, but not before equipping his Bayard. The pulse rifle was a familiar weight in his hands, and made him look really cool, actually. He looked like the badass space defender that he had so suddenly become, like the action hero’s in sci-fi programs on TV. It was surreal to think, and yet his reality now.

The sandy material beneath his boots was soft in comparison to Blue’s interior, but denser than the normal sand he was used to seeing. It crunched under his foot like crumbling leaves, and for a moment Lance had the urge to stamp about like a child in a leaf pile. With a small shake of his head at the thought, Lance minutely turned towards Blue, feeling her eyes on him. “Don’t be a stranger” He called to her. “If your scanners pick up anything speak up, I’ll have a peak in the tree’s and around the shore then come back”

Not waiting for her answer, Lance turned back around and trudged carefully towards the trees, Bayard raised in caution. Despite their lighter colours, the vegetation on said trees cast large shadows underneath, so much so that Lance could barely see into them. The grey grains on the beech faded of at the roots of the trees, changing into a lighter coloured looking dirt. Surprisingly that also crunched underneath his foot, although the noise was quieter than the grey grains.

He didn’t have to walk far before Blue chirped warningly at him. He froze mid-step, bodying tensing as his eyes darted around in alarm. He raised his Bayard, readying himself.

For a moment he didn’t see them, the sudden fade into darkness around him hindering his eyesight, and then the ground crackled with footsteps, and to his right, several tall looming figures stepped out from behind a large thicket of trees.

Lance’s eyes widened as he took in the group of inhabitants he was faced he was face with, and he could feel his Bayard go slack in his grip.

This was defiantly not what he expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap for Chapter 2, hope you all liked it :P  
> If you have any feedback comment below, I love hearing what people think of my works, next chapter will be out in two weeks time  
> You can find me at http://dancing-rainbow-llamas.tumblr.com/ and I'll follow the tag 'Keeping your head up' or 'Kyhu' for this and use it to tag the next chapters  
> The chapter title is a lyric section from 'Jonsi – All around us'  
> Honestly i'm having so much fun planning this and can't wait to delve into deeper to this. It's a bit world buildey atm but should hopefully pick up more in pace.  
> Until The next chapter!
> 
> Edit: 28/11/2016 - Thought i'd put a note to say the next chapter will be one week late mainly because I've had a lot of work piled onto me over the last two weeks and haven't had much time to get the chapter done. :)


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